I just got my new baby Bailey home around 8 last night. I was a nervous wreck, but I think we survived the first night ok. I would love for her to sleep on the bed with me, but it's not exactly accident proof right now, so I decided the best thing would be to crate her. I know they say not to give them too much room, but I had her in a medium size petmate crate, which is pretty big. But it had her blanket on the bottom, a small pillow, a couple plush toys, and her food & water. She was in my bedroom where she could see me. She whined a lot after being locked in, but eventually gave up and went to sleep. I think she got more sleep than I did.
I was constantly awake wondering if she had to go potty. I got up 3-4 times and took her to the bathroom where I had a puppy pad. Every time she went potty, all but once on the pad. A couple times I also hand fed her some dry food. Whenever I locked her back in she whined for a bit again but then stopped. Overall I thought it went well. Is this a good routine?
One of my questions is how often should she have to go in the night right now? She is 10 weeks old and only 1 lb 1 oz. so I am free feeding her. I also give her a little wet food before bed and in the morning.
At the breeder's house she never went outside. She was potty pad trained only. I want to outside train her. One problem with that is that my backyard is not done, it's just dirt. Today I have been taking her out to a potty pad in the dirt every hour or so, but she mostly just stands there, lays down on the pad, or tries to eat sticks. How do I get her used to going outside?
She is confusing me with her potty breaks though. Although she has had a lot of success going on the pads, she has also gone on the carpet once (oops, my fault for not putting the gate back up), and on a blanket I bought her AND even the blanket the breeder sent with her mom's scent!
I thought she would never go on the blanket. She was gates into the kitchen at the time with plenty of other places to go, including of course a potty pad.
Also, she has been sleeping a lot. I'm sure it's mostly because yesterday was a tiring day of new experiences and she's worn out, but it does concern me a bit. She has also been trembling a little. I noticed the last time I saw her shaking it was right before she went potty (#2). Maybe she was just nervous about going in the wrong spot?
Another totally random question: Is it safe to use Clorox wipes for accidents on the tile and cleaning other things she is in contact with? They say something about being dangerous to animals, but I would think that's if they actually lick the wipe or something like that.
And I think my last question (for now)- I can tell she really misses her siblings and all the other dogs she had to play with. She sees my cat through the gate and whines to play with her, but the cat won't have any of it at this point. She's got lots of plushes and I plan to buy one of those microwavable ones and put a ticking clock by her crate. What else can I do to help her adjust to being an only baby?
WOW I know this was LONG. I hope some of you wise yorkie owners can give me a little help.
